Lot 9,
"Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)," by David Hockney,
acrylic on canvas, 84 by 120 inches, 1972

By
Carter B. Horsley

The Post-War
and Contemporary Art evening auction at Christie's New York November
15, 2018 is highlighted by a large David Hockney and good works by
Bacon, Rothko and Diebenkorn.

Lot 9, "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures," is a large
acrylic on canvas by David Hockney (b. 1937) that measures 84 by 120
inches and was painted in 1972. It has an estimate on request.

It sold for $90.3 million including the buyer's premium as do all
results mentioned in this article, smashing the auction record for a
living artist, which had been $58.4 million for a "Balloon Dog" by Jeff
Koons. The buyer of the Hockney painting was not disclosed.
According to an article by The New
York Times by Scott Reyburn and Robin Pogrebin, "the painting's
seller was not publicly revealed, but was widely reported to be Joe
Lewis, a market-savvy British billionaire based in the Bahamas," who
had bought the work in 1995 from David Geffen.

Lot
6 is a small oil on canvas by Francis Bacon (1909-1992) entitled "Study
of Henrietta Moraes Laughing." It measures 14 by 12 inches and
was
painted in 1969. It is from the collection of S. I
Newhouse. It has
been widely published and was shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in 1975 and the Tate Gallery in London in 1986,

The figure was also a model for Lucien Freud and Bacon painted her 23
times.

It has an estimate of $14,000,000 to $18,000,000. It sold for $21,687,500.

Lot 18 is a good but somber oil on canvas by Mark Rothko
(1903-1970). Entitled "Untitled (Rust, Blacks on Plum), it
measures 60 by 57 inches and was painted in 1962. It is property of
Francois and Susan de Menil.

It has an estimate of $35,000,000 to $45,000,000. It sold for $35,712,500.

Lot 31 is a large oil and charcoal on
canvas by Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993) entitled "Ocean Park
#137." It is from the collection of Mary Tyler Moore and Dr. S.
Robert Levine. It has been often published. It has an
estimate of $18,000,000 to $22,000,000. It sold for $22,587,500.

Lot
38 is an excellent, impressive and large, acyrilic, charcoal and pastel
on linen by George Condo ( b. 1957) entitled "Washington Square
Park." It measures 78 by 108 inches and was painted in
2010. It has an estimate of $2,600,000 to $3,200,000. It sold for $4,812,500.

Lot 51 is a striking acrylic
and silkscreen of the "Birth of Venus (After Botticelli)" by Andy
Warhol (1928-1987). It measures 48 by 72 inches and was painted
in 1984. It is one of six versions. It has an estimate of
$2,500,000 to $3,500,000. It
sold for $4,812,500.

Lot
45 is strong, small oil and enamel on paperboard mounted on board by
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997). It is entitled "Figure in
Landscape I"and measures 24 1./2 by 14 1/2 inches. It was painted
in 1951. It has an estimate of $4,500,000 to $6,500,000. It failed to sell.

Lot
36, "Event in a Barn," by Willem de Kooning, oil, enamel, and paper
collage on paper mounted on board, 24 5/8 by 33 inches, 1947

Lot
36 is an excellent early oil, enamel and paper collage by Willem de
Kooning (1904-1997) entitled "Event in a Barn." It measures 24
5/8 by 33 inches and was painted in 1947.

The catalogue provides the following commentary:

"Using sweeping and forceful movements of the brush, DeKooning
delineates curvaceous fragments of the female body that have been
flattened and shattered in prism-like arrangements that echo Cubism...."

The lot has a modest estimate of $4,000,000 to $6,000,000. It failed to sell.

Lot
18 is an impressive and large synthetic resin, lacque and acrylic on
polyester by Sigmar Polke (1941-2010). It is entitled "B-Mode"
and measures 118 by 88 inches and was painted in 1987. It has
been widely exhibited.

The
catalogue provides the following commentary:

"B-Mode
is one of a series of towering semi-transparent paintings, all executed
on polyester grounds in the mid- to late-1980s, that mark a
particularly rich and creative period in the history of Polke's always
prodigious and varied productivity. Making use of a wide range of
often exotic materials, a multitude of painterly spills, smudges and
printing errors along with a sequence of contrasting patterns and
printed reproductons, these paintings were works that expanded
the artist's ceaseless inquiry into painting's ability to articulate
the mystery of reality to its fullest potential."

It
has an ambitious estimate of $9,000,000 to $12,000,000. It failed to sell.

Lot
39 is an enormous painting in three discrete parts by Takashi Murakami
(b. 1962) entitled "Tan Tan Bo." It measures 141 3/4 by 212 5/8
inches overall and was painted in 2001. It has been widely
exhibited. It has an estimate of $5,000,000 to $8,000,000. It sold for $5,037,500.

Lot
15 is a very colorful and large abstraction by Sam Gilliam (b. 1933)
entitled "Lady Day II." It measures 107 by 160 inches and was
painted in 1971. It was once owned by the Phillips Collection in
Washington. It has an estimate of $1,500,000 to
$2,000,000. It sold for
$2,172,500, an auction record for the artist.